1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a floating yoke piece for a racket, and more particularly, to a tennis racket having a yoke which is held in position solely by the racket string pressure and which has an elastomeric cushion secured between the yoke ends and adjacent portions of the racket frame where contact therebetween is made.
2. Description of the Background Art
Tennis involves players on opposite sides of a net who employ rackets to strike a resilient ball back and forth over the net. The racket has one end with tensioned strings which contact the ball. The other end has a handle grasped by the user.
It is well recognized that modern, improved rackets add to a player's efficiency and to the enjoyment of tennis. It is also well recognized that further improvements to rackets are still possible for purposes such as abatement of shocks and vibration when striking the ball.
By way of illustration, the background art discloses many types of frames for supporting tensioned racket strings so as to abate shocks and vibrations. As an example of such wide variety of background art, note U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,681 to Hall which discloses a thermoplastic throat piece which is structurally integrated with a metallic racket frame by passing the strings through the holes formed in the throat piece. Limited torsional movement is allowed due to the materials and construction.
Note also U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,170 to Garber wherein there is disclosed a throat made of a resilient elastomeric material bolted between the oppositely curving portions of the frame. The throat completes the ovaloid shape of the head and provides the sole support for adjoining strings attached thereto.
Volkl, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,308, discloses a tennis racket with an insert installed in the throat portion. The insert is adapted to have secured thereto at least some of the strings. A central hinge allows for pivoting of the insert about a central vertical axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,124 to Yuhas discloses a racket with a throat piece in which vibrations produced by the impact of the ball on the strung hitting surface are dampened. This dampening is effected by an elastic dampening device secured by fasteners between the opposite sides of the throat piece and the otherwise normally abutting inside of each leg of the racket frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,072 to Haar discloses a throat of a racket with a tensioning device. The tensioning device comprises as least one pinion with a toothed periphery which threadedly engages with teeth on the end portion of a flexible member. By rotating the pinion, the flexible member will be moved so as to vary the tension in the strings.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,259 to Davis, there is disclosed a throat ridge which spans the opposed leg of a frame member and which includes a pair of upper and lower bridge sections. Such sections extend generally transversely and are spaced apart longitudinally to define a cut out area therebetween. A piece of vibration absorbing material is positioned between the upper and lower bridge sections.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,260 to Todd discloses a tennis racket with a resilient insert which is disposed within a radially disposed gap which extends completely through the racket head between the two arms of the yoke. The resilient insert is keyed to fit closely within the gap of a racket handle. It is secured in place by a base plate which overlies the confronting ends of the head formed by the gap.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,433 to Pohlenz discloses a gas spring incorporated into a tennis racket in the throat area. The gas spring is coupled with some of the strings so as to maintain a predetermined tension within the strings irrespective of a possible elongation of the strings during operation.
As can be readily understood, the background art discloses a wide variety of tennis rackets designed for shock and vibration abatement through a wide variety of mechanisms. Such rackets are fabricated of a wide variety of materials, synthetic and natural, and formed by a wide variety of processes. No background art, however, discloses, teaches or suggests a tennis racket with a floating yoke piece that is not directly attached to the rest of the racket frame except by the strings and which includes a cushioning member in the area of the contact between the yoke and frame for absorbing and abating shocks and vibrations.
As illustrated by the background art, efforts are continuously being made to improve tennis rackets. No prior reference, however, suggest the present inventive combination of component elements arranged and configured as disclosed herein. Prior rackets do not provide the benefits attendant with the present invention. The present invention achieves its purposes, objects and advantages over the prior art through a new, useful and unobvious combination of component elements, through the use of a minimum number of functioning parts, through the utilization of readily available materials and conventional components, and with no appreciable increase in costs.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a tennis racket frame adapted to isolate and diminish shock and vibrations, the frame having a head end and a handle end with recesses adjacent to an intermediate extent of the frame, the recesses being in a curved configuration; a yoke piece having a central extent and free ends, the free ends being in a curved configuration essentially conforming to the recesses; and cushioning means positioned between the racket recesses and the yoke ends.
It is a further object of the invention to isolate and diminish shocks and vibrations in the tennis racket through the use of a floating yoke.
It is a further object of the present invention to couple the yoke of a tennis racket to the remainder of the frame with cushioning components therebetween for abating the negative effects of shocks and vibrations.
It is a further object of the invention to couple a yoke piece to the remainder of the frame by string tension only.
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide superior playing performance and greater comfort to tennis players.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.